Co-Op

I recently heard of a produce co-op here in the Arid Zone state, it is called Bountiful Baskets. I signed up for a basket of produce, paying $17 for non-organic (the organic is $25 and the drop offs were not in my range at the moment) produce.

This morning was our pick up. I stood in a short line waiting for my turn, and gladly filled my laundry basket with, what felt like, forty pounds of fresh produce. There was a little extra, and we were instructed to take one more item from the boxes. I asked Rhayn if she wanted more green beans of broccoli, she chose the green beans but we were told to just take both.

Smiling and thankful, we left the warehouse with:
2 bunches of broccoli
2 bags of green beans
1 bunch of spinach
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 celery (is it a head, too?)
2 onions
10 red potatoes
5 oranges
4 limes
7 peaches
4 black velvet apricots
1 musk melons (or cantaloupe)
1 bag of tasty seedless, red grapes
1 quart of cherry tomatoes
(I know that this picture features a few extra items- like two russet potatoes and a sweet Texas onion that were already living in the drawer waiting to be used. I meant to take a picture of the laundry basket filled with tasty produce, but I was so excited when we got home that I started washing it and putting it away before I realized I had forgotten to take the picture!)

I am hoping to spread the word about this co op and possibly get an organic drop off near Rhayn's school. I think that it would really benefit the families there as well.

Be Jealous.

Recently we purchased a new camera. Why? Well our last camera that we bought for taking pictures of scenery was damaged by a scratch on the lens. When you take pictures with it, as long as you are cautious of where the sun/light is the pictures are still good. But nearly half of the pictures taken with it have a blur spot in them. I admit it was probably my fault. I walked around, tourist style with the camera around my neck, with the lens cap popping off all of the time. Sometimes I tossed the camera over my shoulder like a purse. I didn't watch where it was. I had kids to watch, and the camera? Not as valuable as their lives are.

I asked for a nice compact camera to carry in my purse. Then for Christmas I received a second compact camera (Will was taking the original one with him, and the one I received was a screaming Black Friday deal at Target.) I love my camera, I take great pictures with it.

One day as we were looking at something on Flickr, we noticed that the camera that took the pictures was a Nikon CoolPix. I drool over those all of the time, since a certain well known blogger uses one to take pictures that I am so envious of. We found one, maybe not the high quality SLR CoolPix that SHE uses, but it was a new model made for the novice photographer like we are. I expressed my utter desire to be cool like HER and how even though I know we will never be rich MAC people, maybe, just maybe we could have a camera like HERS. His answer? For about half an hour he looked at that camera, he read reviews and came to the conclusion that we could get better functionality by buying this Canon.

We stepped away from the purchase and went to my brother's wedding reception. The next day he told me that he ordered it. You see he had sold a guitar pedal eight months ago and wouldn't you know that money was still in his PayPal account. It more than enough to buy the camera.

The camera he bought has a lot of great features. It has a great zoom, and I can't wait to really get to know that camera. I thought we would take a lot of pictures of scenery (it came the day we left for Prescott last week.) But no, we have a lot of pictures like this one (notice the dogs fighting in the background, oh Lily was loving that beagle.):

And this one: He took it from across the room and I had no idea he was snapping pictures while I was stretching. We never stopped and took any scenery pictures, but we have a long time with this new camera.

(Alright, I will admit that I am posting those pictures of my self to show off my tan. It is quite golden isn't it?)

Golden Brown

For months I have been looking for a bikini. I know, I am 30, and maybe a bikini isn't the best idea. But I wanted one. Alright? I was opposed to a halter top, simply because they usually don't support my saggy baggy "girls" well enough. Last night after girls' night out, I was just not in a hurry to get home. I was across the street from Target and although I have been avoiding Target, since finances have been tight, I thought I would hop in there and check their clearance suits out.

I found this Merona suit, and tried it on. The halter actually holds the girls in place. I can shimmy and shake all over and they stay in the top! And? It looks cute. I was so excited. The bottoms actually cover my hiney, and I didn't look half bad. Well- my stomach is not as flat as the model's is and it is white, while the rest of me is turning brown from the girls' swim lessons. But this suit actually made me feel good, and I love the colors. It was 30% off, not great, but much better than full price.

The Hippy Plunge

About a year ago, after complaining about my feet hurting, Will told me maybe I should try out Birkenstocks. Lets just say my jaw hit the floor and I stared at him like he had suddenly grown a second head. My husband is not a hippy. He hates the smell of patchouli (which I love, but don't tell him that. *wink) To me Birkenstocks are the hippiest of hippy shoes. Only topped by not wearing shoes at all. I like bare feet, and if I could get away with no shoes, I would. However there are signs everywhere stating "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" and well I like to get service, okay?

I went to a locally owned shoe store last year and tried on shoes. I tried on at least thirty pairs of sandals before deciding on these Earth Shoes. I wore them happily, until my mom bought a pair of shoes that looks just like them. Sorry, Mom, I don't want to match you yet. Maybe when I am forty. I honestly haven't worn them much since.

A few months ago, my feet started hurting again. I bought a pair of Teva Mush flip flops. They helped, but when I go to Costco, I get shocked if I touch any metal. It hurts and I cringe as I go to open the refrigerator. Also? My feet developed an odor after wearing them for a while. So once again, I went to my locally owned shoe store, and stared long and hard at the Birkenstocks.

I tried them on. I tried on multiple styles. I walked around the store, and decided on a pair I liked. But I could not make myself spend over $100 on a pair of shoes again. (Having done that last year with the "mom-matching shoes.") I decided to look at them online and see if I could get a better deal.

The answer to that is no. Well, I could get them for $90. Or if I got the kind that aren't actually made with a leather upper they were only $75 at AAFES. I decided that I would eventually make it back to previously mentioned locally owned shoe store and buy them.

Today I went to the Shoe Pavilion thinking maybe I would find a cheap sandal that would be an alright substitute. Instead I found an entire row of Birkenstocks for only $30 to $60. The kind made with leather, not just Birko-flor. (What is that?!) I didn't find the ones I had originally wanted, but I found these (not exactly like that, the ones I found are black suede) and for $30 it seemed like a no-brainer. I purchased them, my very first hippy shoe.

Will has taught me the art of frugality well. Not tightwad or cheap ass, FRUGAL. And you know what? It made me feel great.

Show Me the Pink!

Some time before Christmas Will was shopping at Best Buy for work. We don't normally shop there, as it is pricey and well you can almost always find whatever you want for cheaper online. He bought some software I believe and received a $75 gift card. We looked at external hard drives so he could take movies with him on his trips. They were outrageously priced there and he found an awesome deal online. He gave me the gift card, and told me I could use it. I figured I would buy some movies or cds.

I went in to Best Buy, with intent to purchase a Blue October cd. I looked at it, but decided I really didn't want it that badly. I wandered around taking my time because I had Gwen wrapped up on me and fast asleep. I walked by the MP3 players, and thought that would be nice to have. So I started looking at them. I glanced for a moment at the iPods. Way out of my price range, even the shuffle was more than I wanted to spend. I wandered back to the other MP3 players and saw a few that looked alright. I read specifications, which honestly meant a whole lot of nothing to me. I decided that a 2GB would be a decent size. I found a Samsung U3 that was decent, but the pink color was a little too hot pink for me. Then I saw the Sandisk Sansa. It was little, similar in design to the iPod, and just the right shade of fuchsia. I immediately decided that this was the MP3 player for me. I headed up to the register with my new friend.

I am counting it as a Valentine's Day/Anniversary gift. It is so pretty and pink and little and fits so nicely. I was excited to find that I can listen to radio on it, because I like listening to NPR but find many of the programs to be too much for the girls. They don't need to hear about soldiers dying in Iraq. I can not imagine how that would feel, knowing your daddy is a soldier, and especially with him not being home with us. It has to be hard to understand that he is not in the war zone. I now can listen to NPR without them listening. That makes me happy.

I bought the girls stuffed unicorns for Valentine's Day. Not that I usually get them a gift, it just made me feel good to give them something. They are a little bit big. But as I am redoing Rhayn's room in fairytale decoration... the unicorns will look great in there!

What a weekend!

On Saturday morning Rhayn had a birthday party to attend. After that we were meeting my parents to drop off the girls and head out for our evening away at a fancy resort, in celebration of our 5th anniversary (which is actually next month.)

I had never left Gwennie Goo overnight, only having recently night weaned her. I was worried about it, but my parents assured me countless times that it would be fine.

We drove away and decided to pick up lunch because the drive was a hefty one. We arrived around four pm or so. Upon checking into our room (which was called a villa) we were shocked. That room was so nice, and huge. It was more of an apartment. With a full kitchen, laundry room, a separate bedroom and living/dining area. Holy cow it was nice. In the bathroom was the best part, a jacuzzi style tub. I was excited about that.

We had a great evening, enjoying not being parents and just getting to be a married couple. That is not something we get to enjoy often enough. It had started raining sometime during the night. We both woke up and commented on it. It drizzled all morning, as we sat and ate our breakfast in front of the fireplace. At around noon we left and checked out. We drove down Scottsdale Road, which was covered in water. Will made a comment about how it was good that we left when we did, this road looked like it was going to be flooded soon. We had lunch at PF Changs. (If you ever eat there, order the vegetarian lettuce wraps and/or kung pao scallops! so good.)

After lunch we were listening to the radio and heard a service announcement that the road we had been on and the area we had been staying in was under a severe flash flood warning. Good call on our part by getting out of that area! You hear so many stories about people who get caught in flash floods. I have ever seen hummers stuck in the middle of a flooded wash, the people sitting on the roof waiting to be rescued.

My mom met us around 3:30 and gave us back our darling daughters (who both had not gotten enough sleep and were g-r-u-m-p-s!) It was still drizzling outside when we stopped at home. Our poor dog had been left outside the whole time and she was an icicle. (Once again, I mention that she has practically no fur to speak of!)

All in all, a great weekend, filled to the brim with fun. I for one am ready to not do anything for a few days, it is too bad that I have so much laundry... rain= mud= mess.

Jenny

I have a doll that has been my friend since I was a wee one. Her name is Jenny. I keep her in my cedar chest (or hope chest or blanket chest, whichever you would call it.) Sometimes when Rhayn is very good, and asks very nicely, she gets to play with her. She has a tea party with Rhayn's porcelain doll.

I wanted to show her what Jenny looked like when I got her (not that I remember or anything.) So I googled her, and found quite a few of her on eBay. She had a friend named Mandy and Becky, and I think we need those, also. I think Santa might be bringing the girls each a very special vintage doll. And I am really excited about it. Maybe we will have to get a nice doll tea set, hmmm let me pop on over to eBay and look at those, too.

If you are ever feeling nostalgic about toys that you once owned, check eBay, seriously. I had a great time looking at old dolls, and even found a few neat things that my mom used to let me play with, like Penny Brite.

Does anyone know the difference between a Cherry Limeade and a Shirley Temple? Is it just that a Cherry Limeade has fresh lime?

Acquisition

We have been eyeing a sectional for quite a while. We measured our room, and based off of the sectional measurements, we felt it would fit perfectly. We might lose a few inches from our current couch situation. That was fine, because we would be getting what we think of as "a family couch." On a sectional it is easier to sit closer to your family and snuggle.

So on Monday, the first day of the coupon (and first day it was available) we drove to Costco Home, to scope it out. I had gone in once before to look at it, deciding the arms felt weird, but Will was really the deciding factor. He was the one who had a list of criteria for our purchase. He walks in to Costco Home, sits down and immediately deems it "perfect."I wanted him to look at the storage ottoman that was shown with it (but doesn't go on sale until next week.) I am totally obsessing about it. Its leather, which I don't usually care for, but a rich brown and has a lot of storage inside. He didn't even look at the ottoman, he was single minded, so afraid if we didn't get to the register and secure our purchase of the couch, we wouldn't be able to get it. (Funny, since it had BARELY gone on sale that day AND Costco Home had only been open an hour!)

We had to make two trips to get our sectional home. While I took Gwennie and Lily (for her first car ride that wasn't to the vet) to pick up th second half, Will and Rock were to move the loveseat and couch upstairs.

I got home an hour later, and they were standing around not doing anything. Rocky's dad had been visiting, so I was not too upset, they were talking to him.

They move the love seat upstairs. It was a tight fit. While they are doing that I moved the couch into position for them, and vacuumed the space that had been occupied by them. I also pushed the main part of the sectional into place and waited for them to bring the other half inside so that I could enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Meanwhile, they are attempting to get the couch upstairs, and gouging my walls. It didn't fit and is sitting in our dining room area.

After putting the sectional together we realize that we did NOT measure it correctly. The measurements were the separate pieces, so we needed to add them to get the FULL SIZE of it.

Now, since our walls were painted brown, and we purchased yet ANOTHER brown item, it blended into the wall. It did not stand out, or have any sort of style.

When we moved into this house, I swore I would "never paint a wall red." Even though I knew it would really add to the room. I have fought it, even though I bought red curtains to accent this room months ago. Finally when we put our new sectional next to the dull cardboard brown walls, I relented. Not that Will said "Hey! Red would be perfect" originally I was going to buy a nice chocolate brown for the faux finish. But as I was standing there in Home Depot, getting the paint. I changed my mind and went with "Morocco Red", and am I ever glad! It looks awesome. The new paint color mixed with the "Cracker Bits" under color compliments the sectional ideally.

Slowly our home is getting a style overhaul. Slowly it is coming together. Slowly, but someday, it will be so beautiful, you will all be jealous!
*The wood on the left side is to keep the puppy from going into the other room, where we can't see her. Almost all of her accidents have been in there. Also, she chases the cats around our dining room table AND an added bonus? Gwennie can't leave the living room/kitchen area, either.

Its so not fair.

Well, apparently the class I registered for was not desirable. It has been cancelled due to lack of enrollment. It figures. So I went over the whole catalog, and didn't find another class that would satisfy any of the areas I need. Can I say that I am really upset now?

At least I got a few good deals at Old Navy today. They had all their clearance an additional 50% off. I was totally stoke. Also they had some "slim" sized jeans on sale for my little twig named Rhayn. I had tried buying her regular pants at Target, and they looked awful, like a sack! I bought a pair of brown slacks for myself for $10! WHOO HOO! They had some really nice black trousers that were like 40% wool, I should have bought them, too. But I know I can only wear them like once a year.

Its my brother, G'Rat's birthday. That means yesterday was Hairball's birthday (Right? I usually can't remember if its before or after G'Rat's!) I started writing this lovely post about her, but it was never finished. Oh well, I hope they have both had great days and wonderful years!